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{{short description|Theatre in London, England (opened 1901)}}
:''This article is about the London theatre. For the theatre in ], ], see ]. For the concert venue in Manchester, see ]. For the theatre in ], ] see ].''
{{about|the theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End of London|the music hall in New York City|Apollo Theater|the theatre across from Victoria station in Westminster|Apollo Victoria Theatre|the theatre formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon|Hammersmith Apollo|other uses|Apollo Theatre (disambiguation)}}


{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox Theatre
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
|name=Apollo Theatre
{{Infobox theatre
|image=Apollo Theatre.jpg
|name= Apollo Theatre
|caption=]'s ''A Life in the Theatre'' starring ] in ]
|image= Apollo Theatre, February 2022, Magic Goes Wrong.jpg
|address=]
|caption= The theatre showing '']'' in 2022
|city=], ]
|address= ]
|country=
|city= ], ]
|designation=]
|country= United Kingdom
|latitude=51.511472
|publictransit = {{rint|london|underground}} {{lus|Piccadilly Circus}}
|longitude=-0.133417
|designation= ]
|architect=Lewin Sharp
|coordinates = {{coord|51.511472|-0.133417|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|owner=Nimax Theatres
|architect= ]
|capacity=796, on 4 levels
|type=] |owner= ]
|capacity= 658<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nimaxtheatres.com/apollo-theatre/ | title=Apollo Theatre | publisher=nimaxtheatres.com | access-date=2 July 2013}}</ref>
|opened=21 February 1901
|type= ]
|opened= {{Start date and age|1901|02|21|df=yes}}
|yearsactive= |yearsactive=
|rebuilt= |rebuilt=
|closed= |closed=
|othernames= |othernames=
|production=Satisfaction |production= '']''
|currentuse= |currentuse=
|website=www.apollo-theatre.co.uk <!--Don't replace with www.nimaxtheatres.com/about.asp which is about the owners--> |website= {{URL|nimaxtheatres.com/apollo-theatre/}}
}} }}


The '''Apollo Theatre''' is a ]<ref name=listing> accessed 28 Apr 2007</ref> ], designed by ] ] for owner ] and is located on ] in the ]. The fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, it opened on ], ] with an ] ] entitled ''The Belle of Bohemia''. The '''Apollo Theatre''' is a ] ] in ] in the ], in central ].<ref name=listing> accessed 28 April 2007</ref> Designed by the architect ] for owner ],<ref name=ALloyd/><ref name=TITheatre/> it became the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street when it opened its doors on 21 February 1901,<ref name=TITheatre/> with the American ] '']''.<ref name=ALloyd/><ref name=TITheatre/>


==History==
The first London theatre of the ], it was renovated, by Schaufelberg, in ] and a private foyer and ante room installed to the Royal Box. The sculpted work on the stone fascia is by T.Simpson, the building is of plain brick to the neighbouring streets. The theatre has a first floor central loggia. Inside there is a three galleried auditorium with elaborate plasterwork<ref name=listing/>.


===Construction===
Productions at the theatre include the first performances of ]'s '']'' in ], ''Whispering Wires'' in ] with ] as Barry McGill, ]'s '']'' (1928, with ]), '']'' (1986), '']'' (1988, with ]), '']'' (1989, with ]), ]'s '']'' (1993), '']'' (2000), the female version of '']'' (2001), ]'s '']'' (2003), ]'s '']'' (2006), and ]' '']'' (2006, with ]), '']'' (2007,with ]) and '']'' (2007).
] had bought land on the newly created ] at the turn of the 20th century—next door to the ], which opened in 1888—and as a consequence the Apollo is one of the few theatres in London to be ].<ref name=ALloyd/><ref name=TITheatre/>


The only complete theatre design of architect Lewin Sharp,<ref name=ALloyd/> the Apollo was specifically designed for ] and named after the Greek god of the arts and leader of the muses.<ref name=NimaxApollo/> It was constructed by builder Walter Wallis of plain ] in keeping with the neighbouring streets; the front piece is in the ] with a sculpted stone fascia by T. Simpson. The structure encloses a four-level auditorium, with three cantilevered balconies and a first-floor central loggia, decorated in the ] by Hubert van Hooydonk. In keeping with then European style, each level has its own foyer and promenade.<ref name=TITheatre/>
==References==

Owing to the death of ] the previous month, it became the first London theatre to be completed in the ].<ref name=TITheatre/> The capacity on the opening night, 21 February 1901,<ref name="tel">{{cite web| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/10529373/Apollo-Theatre-history.html| title=Apollo Theatre: history| publisher=]| work=telegraph.co.uk| date=19 December 2013| access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> was 893, with a ] of {{convert|9.14|m}} wide and {{convert|8.89|m}} deep.<ref name=ALloyd>{{cite web| url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/ApolloTheatre.htm| title=Apollo Theatre| publisher=Arthur Lloyd| access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref>

The capacity today is 757 seats,<ref name=NimaxApollo/> with the balcony on the 3rd tier considered the steepest in London.<ref name=TITheatre>{{cite web| url=http://www.thisistheatre.com/londontheatre/apollotheatre.html| title=Apollo Theatre, Shaftsbury Ave, London| publisher=ThisIsTheatre.com| date=22 April 2014| access-date=2014-10-15}}</ref><ref name=stand/>

===Operations===
Owing to a relatively unsuccessful opening, impresario Tom B. Davis took a lease on the building, and hence management of operations, from 1902.<ref name=NimaxApollo/> The theatre was renovated by Ernest Schaufelberg in 1932, with a private foyer and ] installed to the Royal Box.<ref name=ALloyd/> ] took control of the theatre in 1944.<ref name=NimaxApollo/>

] purchased the theatre in 1975,<ref name=NimaxApollo/> selling it to ]'s ] and ] in 2000. ] and Max Weitzenhoffer purchased the theatre and several others in 2005,<ref name="stand">{{cite web | url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/the-history-of-the-london-apollo-9017564.html | title=The history of the London Apollo | publisher=] | work=standard.co.uk | date=20 December 2013 | access-date=20 December 2013}}</ref> creating ], which still owns the theatre.<ref name=NimaxApollo>{{cite web|url=http://www.nimaxtheatres.com/apollo-theatre/|title=Apollo Theatre|publisher=]|access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref>

=== 2013 ceiling collapse ===
On 19 December 2013, at about 20:15 GMT,<ref name=BBC25458009>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25458009| title=Apollo Theatre balcony collapses| work=]| date=19 December 2013| access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> {{convert|10|m2}} of the auditorium's ornate plasterwork ceiling collapsed around 40 minutes into a performance of '']''.<ref name=BBC25459567>{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25459567| title=Apollo Theatre: Ceiling collapse injures 76 people| work=]| date=19 December 2013| access-date=20 December 2013}}</ref><ref name=sky>{{cite web| url=http://news.sky.com/story/1185016/apollo-theatre-collapse-causes-injuries| title=Apollo Theatre Collapse Causes Injuries| publisher=]| work=news.sky.com| date=19 December 2013| access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> It brought down a lighting rig and a section of balcony, thereby trapping two people and injuring around 88, including seven seriously. There were 720 people in the audience at the time. The incident was preceded by heavy rain.<ref name=BBC25458009/>

The ] responded with 25 ambulance crews, an air ambulance rapid response team, 8 fire engines with more than 50 firefighters, and the ].<ref name=BBC25459567/> Casualties were taken to the ]s of the adjacent ] and ] theatres,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/12-2013/roof-collapses-at-west-ends-apollo-theatre-serious_33042.html?cid=homepage_news| title='Roof collapses' at West End's Apollo Theatre, serious injuries reported| publisher=Whats On Stage| work=whatsonstage.com| date=19 December 2013| access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> where the emergency services could ]. The ] later stated that they had treated 76 injured people, with 58 taken to four London hospitals, some on commandeered buses.<ref name=BBC25459567/> ] said 34 adults and 5 children were subsequently treated in accident and emergency at ].<ref name=BBC25459567/>

The venue reopened on 26 March 2014, with an adaptation of ] produced by the ]. The owners were able to reopen the theatre by sealing the fourth level and balcony with a temporary floor, which allowed investigators to continue their work in determining the cause of the collapse.<ref name=reopen>{{cite news| title=Apollo Theatre to reopen after ceiling collapse| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/10659795/Apollo-Theatre-to-reopen-after-ceiling-collapse.html| date=25 February 2014| work=The Telegraph| access-date=2014-10-15}}</ref> That month Westminster City Council issued a notice to other historic theatres saying that the ceiling collapse appeared to have been caused by the gradual deterioration of ] wadding mixed into ] to form the ties lashing timbers together, which had probably been in place since the theatre was built.<ref>{{cite news |author=Siobhann Tighe |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26689705 |title=Apollo theatre collapse due to 'old' materials|work=BBC News |date=24 March 2014 |access-date=6 November 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/mar/24/apollo-theatre-ceiling-collapse-cause |title=Apollo theatre ceiling collapse blamed on failure of old cloth ties |agency=Press Association |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 March 2014 |access-date=6 November 2019 }}</ref>

==Production history==
]'' at the theatre in 1905]]
The opening caused a public uproar, with a selected audience for the first performance, on Thursday 21 February 1901, and the first public performance scheduled for 22 February.<ref name=TITheatre/> '']'' refused to review the private opening, instead waiting until the first public production on the following day.<ref name=TITheatre/> The opening production was the American ] '']'',<ref name=ALloyd/> which survived for 72 performances—17 more than it had accomplished when produced on ].<ref name=TITheatre/> The production was followed by ]'s season, including ''A Cigarette Maker's Romance'' and ''The Only Way'', an adaptation of ]' '']''.<ref name=ALloyd/><ref name=TITheatre/>

] produced a series of successful ], including ''Kitty Grey'' (1901), ''Three Little Maids'' and '']'' (1902). An English version of ]'s light opera '']'' became a hit in 1904, starring with ], who also starred in ]'s '']'' in 1907 in which ] made her London debut.<ref name="LondonEncyclopaedia">{{cite book| editor1-last=Weinreb| editor1-first=Ben| editor2-last=Hibbert| editor2-first=Christopher| title=The London Encyclopaedia| year=1983| publisher=Macmillan| page=22| id={{ASIN|0333576888|country=uk}}}}</ref> Between 1908 and 1912 the theatre hosted ]'s ''The Follies''. After this it staged a variety of works, including seasons of plays by ] in 1913, 1914 and 1924, and ]'s '']'' in 1916.<ref name=NimaxApollo/> ''Inside the Lines'' by ] ran for 421 performances in 1917.<ref name=LondonEncyclopaedia/> Gilbert Dayle's ''What Would a Gentleman Do?'' played in 1918<ref name=ALloyd/> and ''Tilly of Bloomsbury'' by ] was the success in 1919.<ref name=LondonEncyclopaedia/>

] and ] managed the theatre from 1920 to 1923, presenting a series of plays and revivals, including ''Such a Nice Young Man'' by ] (1920) and '']'' (1922), the latter based on the 1894 ] novel ]. They had produced ''The Only Girl'' here in 1916 and ''Tilly of Bloomsbury'' in 1919. '']'' was produced in 1924, starring ]. 1927 saw '']'' and ''Whispering Wires'', with ]. The next year, ] starred in ]'s '']''. ]'s ''The Silver Tassie'' and ]'s ''A Symphony in Two Flats'' both played in 1929. ] starred as Charlotte Brontë in ]'s ''Wild Decembers'' in 1932. ] was the star of a number of plays by her husband ] from 1934 to 1937. Ian Hay's ''Housemaster'' had the most successful run in this period with 662 performances from 1936.<ref name=LondonEncyclopaedia/> ] starred in ]'s ]-winning '']'' in 1938. ]'s play '']'' held the stage in 1939, and ]'s '']'' played in 1942.<ref name=NimaxApollo/>

Control of the theatre transferred to ] in 1944. ] and ] starred that year in a revival of ]'s '']'', and ] starred in '']'' in 1948, followed by ] and ] in ''Treasure Hunt'', directed by ] in 1949. After this, ''Seagulls Over Sorrento'' ran for over three years beginning in 1950. The theatre's longest run was the comedy '']'', starring ] and ], which opened in 1962 and transferred to the ] in 1965. In 1968 Gielgud starred in ]'s '']'', and in 1970 he returned in ]'s '']'', with ]. He returned to the theatre in 1988, at the age of 83, in '']'' by ].<ref name=NimaxApollo/>

A number of hit comedies transferred to or from the theatre in the 1970s and 1980s, and other important plays here during the period included Rattigan's '']'', with ] in 1977, '']'' with ] and ] in 1983, ]'s '']'' in 1986 with ], '']'' the same year, with ], and ], ] and ] in ''Thursday's Ladies'' in 1987. '']'' played in 1988, starring ], and 1989 saw ] in ''Mrs Klein'', ] in '']'', ''Thunderbirds FAB'' starring Andrew Dawson and Gavin Robertson, and ] in '']''. ] starred in Rattigan's '']'' in 1993, and '']'' played in 1995 with ]. ] starred in the ]-winning one-man show, '']'' in 1999.<ref name=NimaxApollo/>

===Selected post-1999 productions===
{{refimprove section|date=December 2013}}

]

{{div col}}
* '']'' (2000) with ]
*'']'' (2000) with ] and ]
*'']'' (2001)
*]'s ''Star Quality'' (2001) with ] and ]
*]'s '']'' (2003) with ]
*'']'' (2004) with ]
*]'s '']'' (2005) with ] and ]
*'']'' (2005) with ]
*]'s '']'' (2006) with ]
*]' '']'' (2006) with ]<ref name="mir">{{cite web| url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/apollo-theatre-collapse-history-londons-2945021| title=History of London's Grade II listed Edwardian building| publisher=]| work=mirror.co.uk| date=19 December 2013| access-date=20 December 2013}}</ref>
*'']'' (2007) with ]<ref name=mir/>
*'']'' (2007)
*'']'' (2007) with ]
*''An Audience with the Mafia'' (2008)
*'']'' (2008) with Felicity Kendal
*''Divas'' (2008)
*'']'' (2008) with ] and ]<ref name=mir/>
*'']'' (2009) with ] and ]<ref name=mir/>
*'']'' (2009) with ]
*'']'' (2010)
*'']'' (2010) with ] and ]
*'']'' (2010–2011) with ] and ]<ref>{{cite web| title=The Country Girl| url=https://www.bestoftheatre.co.uk/346-the-country-girl-tickets| publisher=Best of Theatre| access-date=12 September 2014}}</ref>
*'']'' (2011) with ]
*'']'' (2011)
*'']'' (2011–2012)
*'']'' (2012)
*'']'' (2012) with David Suchet
*'']'' and '']'' (2012) with ] and ]
*'']'' (2013–2014)<ref name=mir/>
*'']'' (2014)
*'']'' (2014)<ref>{{cite web| url=http://blog.londonboxoffice.co.uk/post/urinetown-cast| title=Final cast announced for Urinetown at the Apollo Theatre| publisher=London Box Office| work=blog.londonboxoffice.co.uk| date=3 September 2014| access-date=12 September 2014}}</ref>
*'']'' (2015)
*'']'' (2015) with ]
*''Dear Lupin'' (2015) with ] and ]
*'']'' (2015–2016)
*'']'' (2016) with ]
*'']'' (2016) with ]
*'']'' (2017) with ] and ]
*'']'' (2017) with ] and ]
*'']'' (2017–2021)
*'']'' (2021–2022)
*'']'' (2022)
*''Cruise'' (2022) with ]
*'']'' (2022) with ] and ]
*''] – Showman'' (2022–2023)
*'']'' (2023)
*'']'' (2023–2024) with ] and ]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wiegand |first=Chris |date=2023-02-08 |title=The Time Traveller's Wife musical sets a date for London's West End |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/feb/08/the-time-travellers-wife-musical-london-west-end-dave-stewart-joss-stone-audrey-niffenegger |access-date=2023-02-08 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
*'']'' (2024)
*'']'' (2024)

{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist}}


==References==
{{nofootnotes}}*''Who's Who in the Theatre'', edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, pps: 477-478.
* ''Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950'', John Earl and Michael Sell pp.&nbsp;98–9 (Theatres Trust, 2000) {{ISBN|0-7136-5688-3}}
*''Who's Who in the Theatre'', edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, pps: 477–478.


==External links== ==External links==
{{Commons category|Apollo Theatre, London}}
*
{{Theatres in London}}
* {{TheatresTrust|2005-apollo-london}}, with pictures of the interior, including the ceiling that collapsed in 2013
* , at site dedicated to ]


]
]
]


{{Theatres in London}}
{{theat-struct-stub}}
{{Soho}}

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Latest revision as of 12:27, 29 October 2024

Theatre in London, England (opened 1901) This article is about the theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End of London. For the music hall in New York City, see Apollo Theater. For the theatre across from Victoria station in Westminster, see Apollo Victoria Theatre. For the theatre formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, see Hammersmith Apollo. For other uses, see Apollo Theatre (disambiguation).

Apollo Theatre
The theatre showing Magic Goes Wrong in 2022
AddressShaftesbury Avenue
London, W1
United Kingdom
Coordinates51°30′41″N 0°08′00″W / 51.511472°N 0.133417°W / 51.511472; -0.133417
Public transitLondon Underground Piccadilly Circus
OwnerNimax Theatres
DesignationGrade II
TypeWest End theatre
Capacity658
ProductionFawlty Towers: The Play
Construction
Opened21 February 1901; 123 years ago (1901-02-21)
ArchitectLewin Sharp
Website
nimaxtheatres.com/apollo-theatre/

The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London. Designed by the architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfeld, it became the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street when it opened its doors on 21 February 1901, with the American musical comedy The Belle of Bohemia.

History

Construction

Henry Lowenfeld had bought land on the newly created Shaftesbury Avenue at the turn of the 20th century—next door to the Lyric Theatre, which opened in 1888—and as a consequence the Apollo is one of the few theatres in London to be freehold.

The only complete theatre design of architect Lewin Sharp, the Apollo was specifically designed for musical theatre and named after the Greek god of the arts and leader of the muses. It was constructed by builder Walter Wallis of plain London brick in keeping with the neighbouring streets; the front piece is in the Renaissance style with a sculpted stone fascia by T. Simpson. The structure encloses a four-level auditorium, with three cantilevered balconies and a first-floor central loggia, decorated in the Louis XIV Style by Hubert van Hooydonk. In keeping with then European style, each level has its own foyer and promenade.

Owing to the death of Queen Victoria the previous month, it became the first London theatre to be completed in the Edwardian period. The capacity on the opening night, 21 February 1901, was 893, with a proscenium of 9.14 metres (30.0 ft) wide and 8.89 metres (29.2 ft) deep.

The capacity today is 757 seats, with the balcony on the 3rd tier considered the steepest in London.

Operations

Owing to a relatively unsuccessful opening, impresario Tom B. Davis took a lease on the building, and hence management of operations, from 1902. The theatre was renovated by Ernest Schaufelberg in 1932, with a private foyer and anteroom installed to the Royal Box. Prince Littler took control of the theatre in 1944.

Stoll Moss Group purchased the theatre in 1975, selling it to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group and Bridgepoint Capital in 2000. Nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer purchased the theatre and several others in 2005, creating Nimax Theatres, which still owns the theatre.

2013 ceiling collapse

On 19 December 2013, at about 20:15 GMT, 10 square metres (110 sq ft) of the auditorium's ornate plasterwork ceiling collapsed around 40 minutes into a performance of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It brought down a lighting rig and a section of balcony, thereby trapping two people and injuring around 88, including seven seriously. There were 720 people in the audience at the time. The incident was preceded by heavy rain.

The emergency services responded with 25 ambulance crews, an air ambulance rapid response team, 8 fire engines with more than 50 firefighters, and the Metropolitan Police. Casualties were taken to the foyers of the adjacent Gielgud and Queen's theatres, where the emergency services could triage. The London Ambulance Service later stated that they had treated 76 injured people, with 58 taken to four London hospitals, some on commandeered buses. Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust said 34 adults and 5 children were subsequently treated in accident and emergency at St Thomas' Hospital.

The venue reopened on 26 March 2014, with an adaptation of Let the Right One In produced by the National Theatre of Scotland. The owners were able to reopen the theatre by sealing the fourth level and balcony with a temporary floor, which allowed investigators to continue their work in determining the cause of the collapse. That month Westminster City Council issued a notice to other historic theatres saying that the ceiling collapse appeared to have been caused by the gradual deterioration of Hessian wadding mixed into plaster of Paris to form the ties lashing timbers together, which had probably been in place since the theatre was built.

Production history

Souvenir of 300th performance of Véronique at the theatre in 1905

The opening caused a public uproar, with a selected audience for the first performance, on Thursday 21 February 1901, and the first public performance scheduled for 22 February. The Times refused to review the private opening, instead waiting until the first public production on the following day. The opening production was the American musical comedy The Belle of Bohemia, which survived for 72 performances—17 more than it had accomplished when produced on Broadway. The production was followed by John Martin-Harvey's season, including A Cigarette Maker's Romance and The Only Way, an adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.

George Edwardes produced a series of successful Edwardian musical comedies, including Kitty Grey (1901), Three Little Maids and The Girl from Kays (1902). An English version of André Messager's light opera Véronique became a hit in 1904, starring with Ruth Vincent, who also starred in Edward German's Tom Jones in 1907 in which Cicely Courtneidge made her London debut. Between 1908 and 1912 the theatre hosted H. G. Pelissier's The Follies. After this it staged a variety of works, including seasons of plays by Charles Hawtrey in 1913, 1914 and 1924, and Harold Brighouse's Hobson's Choice in 1916. Inside the Lines by Earl Derr Biggers ran for 421 performances in 1917. Gilbert Dayle's What Would a Gentleman Do? played in 1918 and Tilly of Bloomsbury by Ian Hay was the success in 1919.

George Grossmith, Jr. and Edward Laurillard managed the theatre from 1920 to 1923, presenting a series of plays and revivals, including Such a Nice Young Man by H.F. Maltby (1920) and Trilby (1922), the latter based on the 1894 George du Maurier novel of the same name. They had produced The Only Girl here in 1916 and Tilly of Bloomsbury in 1919. The Fake was produced in 1924, starring Godfrey Tearle. 1927 saw Abie's Irish Rose and Whispering Wires, with Henry Daniel. The next year, Laurence Olivier starred in R. C. Sherriff's Journey's End. Seán O'Casey's The Silver Tassie and Ivor Novello's A Symphony in Two Flats both played in 1929. Diana Wynyard starred as Charlotte Brontë in Clemence Dane's Wild Decembers in 1932. Marion Lorne was the star of a number of plays by her husband Walter Hackett from 1934 to 1937. Ian Hay's Housemaster had the most successful run in this period with 662 performances from 1936. Raymond Massey starred in Robert Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize-winning Idiot's Delight in 1938. Patrick Hamilton's play Gaslight held the stage in 1939, and Terence Rattigan's Flare Path played in 1942.

Control of the theatre transferred to Prince Littler in 1944. John Clements and Kay Hammond starred that year in a revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives, and Margaret Rutherford starred in The Happiest Days of Your Life in 1948, followed by Sybil Thorndike and Lewis Casson in Treasure Hunt, directed by John Gielgud in 1949. After this, Seagulls Over Sorrento ran for over three years beginning in 1950. The theatre's longest run was the comedy Boeing-Boeing, starring Patrick Cargill and David Tomlinson, which opened in 1962 and transferred to the Duchess Theatre in 1965. In 1968 Gielgud starred in Alan Bennett's Forty Years On, and in 1970 he returned in David Storey's Home, with Ralph Richardson. He returned to the theatre in 1988, at the age of 83, in The Best of Friends by Hugh Whitemore.

A number of hit comedies transferred to or from the theatre in the 1970s and 1980s, and other important plays here during the period included Rattigan's Separate Tables, with John Mills in 1977, Romantic Comedy with Tom Conti and Pauline Collins in 1983, Lyle Kessler's Orphans in 1986 with Albert Finney, I'm Not Rappaport the same year, with Paul Scofield, and Dorothy Tutin, Eileen Atkins and Siân Phillips in Thursday's Ladies in 1987. Driving Miss Daisy played in 1988, starring Wendy Hiller, and 1989 saw Zoë Wanamaker in Mrs Klein, Vanessa Redgrave in A Madhouse in Goa, Thunderbirds FAB starring Andrew Dawson and Gavin Robertson, and Peter O'Toole in Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell. Penelope Wilton starred in Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea in 1993, and In Praise of Love played in 1995 with Peter Bowles. Mark Little starred in the Laurence Olivier Award-winning one-man show, Defending the Caveman in 1999.

Selected post-1999 productions

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The facade in 1989, during a production of Thunderbirds FAB

Notes

  1. "Apollo Theatre". nimaxtheatres.com. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  2. English Heritage listing accessed 28 April 2007
  3. ^ "Apollo Theatre". Arthur Lloyd. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Apollo Theatre, Shaftsbury Ave, London". ThisIsTheatre.com. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Apollo Theatre". Nimax Theatres. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  6. "Apollo Theatre: history". telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  7. ^ "The history of the London Apollo". standard.co.uk. London Standard. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Apollo Theatre balcony collapses". BBC News. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  9. ^ "Apollo Theatre: Ceiling collapse injures 76 people". BBC News. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  10. "Apollo Theatre Collapse Causes Injuries". news.sky.com. Sky News. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  11. "'Roof collapses' at West End's Apollo Theatre, serious injuries reported". whatsonstage.com. Whats On Stage. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  12. "Apollo Theatre to reopen after ceiling collapse". The Telegraph. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  13. Siobhann Tighe (24 March 2014). "Apollo theatre collapse due to 'old' materials". BBC News. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  14. "Apollo theatre ceiling collapse blamed on failure of old cloth ties". The Guardian. Press Association. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  15. ^ Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher, eds. (1983). The London Encyclopaedia. Macmillan. p. 22. ASIN 0333576888.
  16. ^ "History of London's Grade II listed Edwardian building". mirror.co.uk. Daily Mirror. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  17. "The Country Girl". Best of Theatre. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  18. "Final cast announced for Urinetown at the Apollo Theatre". blog.londonboxoffice.co.uk. London Box Office. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  19. Wiegand, Chris (8 February 2023). "The Time Traveller's Wife musical sets a date for London's West End". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 February 2023.

References

  • Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 98–9 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
  • Who's Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, pps: 477–478.

External links

Apollo Theatre Website Nimax Theatres Website


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